The State Government on Sunday retracted from its strong stand and showed its readiness to consider the genuine demands of the Odisha Pharmacists’ Service Association in a stipulated time frame. Its indefinite mass leave stir scheduled to be started from Monday.
“We have decided to postpone the agitation following the written assurance from the Health Department authorities to consider the genuine demands within one month’s time,” said OPSA president Khirod Kumar Prusty.
However, OPSA would go on mass leave agitation from August 20, if the demands are not met in the specified time, said Prusty. The OPSA’s seven-point charter include removal of 23 years of anomaly in scale of pay and provision of central scale of pay, promotional avenue in the stagnant cadre, creation of additional posts to meet IPHS norms, graduation as minimum qualification at entry level, provision of a accommodation for association in Bhubaneswar.
Odisha Government had invoked the provision of Essential Services (Maintenance) Act -1988 as the Odisha Pharmacists’ Service Association threatened to go on indefinite mass leave.
The move of the State Government has its significance in the wake of the spread of Dengu menace, abnormal death of nine newborn kids at VSS Medical College and Hospital, Burla for alleged negligence of doctors and the threat of the pharmacists in the Government hospitals.